Marketing Metrics: Meet Goals and Gain Support from the C-suite

Good marketers are enamored with metrics. The problem, however, is that marketers do not always provide the measures that are important to stakeholders, particularly the ones who control the purse strings (i.e., the C-suite).

The source of the problem is that marketers often don’t have access to the information they need, and therefore are left reporting on the information that they do have. For example, marketers may lose control of the customer journey at the bottom of the funnel. There are often steps between lead generation and the actual conversion that rely on other departments which may fall short.

The C-suite looks at success in terms of the bottom line, putting the pressure on marketers to use metrics to connect their efforts to the tangible outcomes that top-level executives covet.

A marketer may be excited about an uptick in clicks, engagement or impressions, but those are key performance indicators (KPIs) that only measure the customer journey through the sales funnel. Stakeholders want to know about the conversion at the bottom of the funnel.

So, how do you gain the support of the C-suite for your efforts?

Agree on strategic goals beforehand and identify which KPIs are best suited to measure the success of a campaign relative to your desired outcome.

Connect lead generation to revenue generation. If your marketing campaign is generating leads but you’re not making any more sales, it might be a sign of another problem in the company that isn’t related to marketing efforts. That is something the senior executives need to know.

In the end, it’s all about communication.

The Society of Healthcare Strategy and Market Development (SHSMD) put out a white paper we highlighted that focuses on four critical elements of a meaningful dialogue between marketing and the C-suite.

Growth: Identify your goals by creating a baseline starting point that helps you measure the value of your plans.

Stakeholder Engagement: Suggest programs of opportunity that increase customer satisfaction; encouraging patient acquisition through word of mouth – which includes social media platforms.

Marketing Communications: Assess the value of your organic and paid campaigns; are they creating customer loyalty?

Marketers who connect KPIs and marketing metrics to more tangible outcomes will ensure a smooth partnership with the C-suite that ultimately leads to greater stakeholder satisfaction and better business performance.

EVR Advertising is a full service agency based in Manchester, N.H. providing strategic, creative and digital services for marketing communications. We genuinely care about our clients, listen and learn about their business and passionately deliver successful results. We hold our clients in high regard and make every effort to be held in the same high regard in return.